1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf putter having pivotable aiming arms which are positionable between a forward aiming position and a rearward aiming position.
2. Description of Related Art
Golf putters having aiming arms for practice putting aid in lining up a golf ball with a golf hole cup. These devices have an aiming pointer attachable to an existing putter head by a clip or temporary fastener. They must take into consideration a variety of factors affecting its attachment to putters of different styles while assuring accurate alignment on the putter. Detachable aiming arms have the convenience of allowing the putter to be used in regulation play, but this feature also allow the aiming arms to be forgotten or misplaced. Examples of such are U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,093 to Marshall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,343 to Eckert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,045 to Bilyeu and U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,675 to Weathers.
Other practice putters have aiming pointers which are permanently attached. For the putters having a permanently affixed pointer forward of the face, a problem arises in regulation play where no part of the putter head may be forward of the face. Examples of such are U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,191 to Mills and U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,102 to Hayd and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2006/0030419. For putting devices having only a rearward positioned pointer, visual alignment of the ball path to the hole is more difficult as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,535 to Leonhardt and U.S. Pat. No. 7,326,121 to Roake.
Aiming arms allow a golfer to practice putting using aided visual alignment. Aided visual alignment provides the golfer a more precise reference for subsequent putts and will allow the golfer to quickly improve alignment of his putts. However, once the golfer has improved his putting performance, he is often forced to then remove an attachment or switch to a regulation putter during normal play. This often interrupts the golfer's concentration and rhythm.
It would be beneficial for the golfer to have a putter with an aiming device which allows alignment of the ball path to the hole with as much visual accuracy as possible, and which does not interrupt the golfer's flow of play.